Master Your Mindset

by Debi Auger

Day 7 Challenge: "Which key tools will you turn to regularly to maintain your mindset and how will you use them effectively?"

Mindset

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of mindset and the critical role it will play in your success. Before you can master your business or your life, you MUST first master your MINDSET. Sure you can try to do it without it (isn't that what you've been doing?), but every day will be a relentless uphill battle and you'll never quite get to where you're headed. 

It's tough though, this mindset stuff... especially now with the world's economy in turmoil and wreaking havoc on our own personal economies. It's not easy to believe in or be positive about anything right now. So that leaves you in a real catch-22 now doesn't it?

I understand... been there, done that. But once I worked on MY mindset, things drastically improved for me. I feel so strongly about it that I put together a program to help you get your mindset work under way. It's called Mindset and Masterminds ~ Your Secret Weapons. In it I guide you through an inspirational process so that you can get yourself into the proper frame of mind to welcome success into your life.

Now don't go thinking that I'm getting all "woo-woo" on you because I brought up mindset. I assure you I'm not. These are all tried, tested, researched and well-used methods and concepts. And I'm not just talking about thinking positive... that's not enough. Mindset is more than that. 

It also requires constant work because, as an entrepreneur, you'll always face challenges and bumps in the road. Many people "poo-poo" all the mindset talk and work. Don't be one of them.

Some of My Favorite Tools for Mindset are My Journals

I like to journal by hand. I find it much more calming and effective. And I have 3 journals that I use. Yes, three. They each have a specific purpose.

My favorite one is my Gratitude Journal. Every night before I go to sleep, I write down all the things from that day that I'm thankful for. I've been doing this for quite a while now and it single-handedly made a huge difference and improvement in my mindset.

I also have a Business Journal and that's for writing all kinds of business-related ideas, evaluations, results, iterations and things like that. I keep it separate because it's a tool that I use and I often refer back to it.

And I have a Personal Journal. It's a gorgeous handcrafted leather journal with white, deckled edged pages. So special. I don't write in it every day, but when I do have personal things to journal about, that's where they go.

Inspirational Quotes

I make graphics with inspirational quotes on them that I use. I also post them here on the blog and on a Pinterest board to be used and enjoyed by others.

Goals Mini Poster

I also have a mini-poster... an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper... that I design every year with my main goals for the year on it, a couple of inspirational quote graphics and a picture or two related to those goals. I print enough copies to keep them in the areas where I work, as the cover of my yearly strategic plan, and with my gratitude journal so they are the last thing I see before I go to bed.

Videos

I get very inspired by videos. So when my mindset needs a boost I can go find one of Natalie Sisson's Suitcase Entrepreneur Podcasts (especially the ones shot on location around the world) or an episode of Natalie MacNeil's She Takes on the World TV or listen to a TED Talks video. My favorite is Simon Sinek's How Great Leaders Inspire Action that I referred to the other day.

Evernote

Ok so this is probably not a tool you would associate with mindset, so let me explain. I'm an Evernote junkie. I use it for everything. I have Evernote on both of my laptops, my tablet and my phone. I have almost 2,000 notes and 100 notebooks all nicely organized into stacks. I can find anything quickly and easily and I don't have to worry about forgetting things (very helpful for me because I have short-term memory loss). This has alleviated a great deal of stress for me.

Because your mind can only truly focus on one thing at a time, having all kinds of mental notes and to-do's floating around in your head makes it impossible to get anything done. I'm a productivity nut, too. I can never get things done fast enough... or do enough of them... and my plate is always beyond full (Note to self: work on that!). So, by giving me a place to quickly and easily capture all my ideas (and work them through to fruition) it keeps me calmer... and that helps my mindset. And, since I started using it my productivity has increased even more. Bonus!

Works in Progress

I try to use exercise and meditation to help with mindset also, but those tools are very much a work in progress. I need to get into a better routine for exercise and meditation just doesn't come easily to me. Slowly and steadily they're being added to the mix.

And You? 

What kinds of things do you do to keep your mindset in check? Let me know in the comments below.

Much Success,

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I'm writing this post as part of Natalie Sisson's 30 Day Blog Challenge during which I'll follow the path she's laying with inspiration and challenges for daily blog posts. I hope you'll enjoy coming along on this journey and share your own in the comments every day. If you'd like to participate in the challenge on your own blog, just click one of the links here and you'll be taken to the page with all the details. Cheers!

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